Is it possible to change NTP server in AirportExpress? Is there any other way to control this device than Airpot Utility?
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Which hardware and software version of Express? The answer is probably no, but narrowing down what you have might be of benefit in getting a precise answer or workaround. Also - how would you change things? (What's the end goal of your setup?)– bmike ♦Jan 19, 2015 at 15:47
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2nd Gen hardware and 7.6.4 software. I just want to have "quiet" and as controlled network (use my own ntp server etc.) as one can get, with all the logging set on.– GobblinJan 19, 2015 at 19:59
2 Answers
Although the GUI has lost a lot of functionality, there is a workaround.
In AU, select the device and click 'edit'. Under the File menu export the config, which you can then edit, and import it using the same menu. The relevant tag is
<key>ntSV</key>
<string>time.apple.com</string>
You will need to be very careful with your editing or you may render it unbootable! You will need to restart for the config change to take effect. I've done this with a Time Capsule: I expect that this is possible with Airport Express too, but do not have access to one to experiment with.
I believe older version of Airport Utiltiy had a GUI that you could set. It seems they took that feature away now. You can set NTP on each Mac itself from Terminal.app rather than setting things on a network level.
sudo systemsetup -setusingnetworktime "IP/Hostname of NTP server"
sudo systemsetup -setusingnetworktime on